Business English Lessons

Discussing your company and position This lesson aims to help students describe what kind of company they work for and what their position is in the company. It also examines different characteristics and motivations an employee may possess. Finally, some useful adjectives are introduced to describe some positive or negative traits of co-workers and bosses. (This is a good introduction lesson for a business English course).

Presentations Lesson PlanThe main aim of this class is to give a presentation to outline the changes of a particular area in a company from the previous year, using graphs to explain trends, and, make a projection for the coming year. The language from this lesson not just useful for presentation but can also be used for discussing many aspects of a company’s performance.

Job interview Lesson
This useful lesson presents two job interview methods, the questions often asked and suitable answers and methods for students/applicants.

Negotiations: Making Money activity
This activity is always one of the most exciting classes for business English courses. It combines language for negotiating, strategy and teamwork. There are many rules, so the teacher should spend ample time at the beginning of class introducing the key phrases and explaining the rules of the game.

Micro-meetings activityThis is a very useful exercise for practicing asking for and giving suggestions and asking for and giving alternative suggestions for everyday workplace problems. The teacher should give every student a problem card and a report sheet for them to take notes. At the end of the activity the teacher can ask the students what were the best suggestions they got and why.

Solving Problems – 6 step problem solving strategy
This activity is very useful for getting students to identify the causes and effects of workplace problems and to work as a team to come up with a solution to solve the problem. It is based on a problem solving strategy that is used by many major companies around the world.

Pronunciation of common technology industry wordsThis lesson is particularly useful for those studying computers sciences or working in the I.T. industry. It focuses on some of the most common words used in I.T. and concentrates on syllable stress rather than phonics. The syllable that should be stressed is underlined in each word and students should practice using them in context specific exercises.

Business Email Writing – Intro
When teaching business email writing I usually start by explaining a theory of email writing I have developed over my years as a teacher which is based on Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) [M.A.K. Halliday, 1980].

Email to prospective employer when applying for a new job
This email is to accompany an application for a new job and is just a short introduction meant to grab the attention of a prospective employer. The email should be short and concise but have enough relevant information to make the employer want to spend time reading through a CV/resume and cover letter.

Asking for information and clarification emailOne of the most common business emails may be making and responding to requests for information from a client, colleague or customer. This lesson lays out a simple formula for keeping this email brief and concise.